Annual C.W.L. convention to be held in district

More than 160 women from across Northwestern Ontario are expected to gather in the west end of the district Friday for the start of the Catholic Women’s League 45th-annual convention.
The convention will attract C.W.L. members from the Thunder Bay Diocese, which includes Marathon, Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, Kenora, and Rainy River District.
The three-day event, which wraps up Sunday, will be hosted by the C.W.L. of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (Rainy River), Our Lady of the Way (Pinewood/Stratton), and St. Patrick’s Church (Emo).
“I’m really excited about it,” enthused Barwick resident Heather Oltsher, C.W.L. president for the Thunder Bay Diocese.
“We’ve had good registration [numbers]–more than we expected,” she added.
Oltsher said this year’s convention will be a very unique one because it is being held in three communities. It begins in Rainy River, then moves to the Emo Legion on Saturday and the Pinewood Hall on Sunday.
“It a unique situation where we have to travel each day. I’m not sure how the city ladies will like that but I think it adds [something] to our convention,” she reasoned.
Julie Smith, who handles public relations for the local C.W.L., said a number of interesting lectures are planned for the convention, including one by the keynote speaker, Sister Bernadette, of Thunder Bay.
A presentation on euthanasia and one on the importance of team spirit within the C.W.L. also are slated, as is a seminar by the OPP on women traveling alone.
“This convention will allow for some of our issues and concerns to be addressed,” said Oltsher. “And, as always, just to come together and grow spiritually.”